NASCAR Cup Series star 'shaking' after intense Sonoma run

A NASCAR Cup Series star has admitted he was 'shaking' after his qualifying run at Sonoma on Saturday.

Shane van Gisbergen took pole by exactly quarter of a second for Sunday's race, having extended his time lead over Chase Briscoe in a high octane last run.

The Cup Series rookie is looking for his third win of the year this weekend to equal the season-high for race victories, having also won at Mexico City and the Chicago Street Race.

The first crack in the seemingly unbeatable Kiwi's armor on road courses appeared on Saturday evening in California, with JR Motorsports team-mate Connor Zilisch holding him off brilliantly throughout the final stage of the Xfinity Series race to take a tense victory.

Van Gisbergen: Qualifying run was 'full-on'

Of course, Zilisch won't be there to fight Van Gisbergen in the Cup Series race on Sunday, but the likes Ty Gibbs and Michael McDowell should be in position to challenge for their own win-and-in days.

After taking pole on Sunday, Van Gisbergen said: "I'm shaking. That was pretty full-on. I'm stoked to have Red Bull on the car. Thank you to Trackhouse and Chevy – amazing car. We weren't very good in practice. New tires fixed it. So yeah, hopefully we can be good in the race. What a good day."

He did admit that he'd like a few alterations to his car, saying: "A bit more rear grip and a bit better balance...just tune it up a little bit, but obviously not a bad spot to start."

It was that rear grip that cost him on Saturday evening against Zilisch, especially when it came to eating up his tyres – something his Cup Series rivals will no doubt have noted.

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